Moebius
by Windsurf
Summary: A one-shot about Shadow finding a permanent home and semi-happy, yet nerve-wracking life on Sonic's world, Mobius.  It plays off a song, although this is not a song-fic! Disclaimer: I don't own StH.


**I just couldn't resist this idea. The similarities between the song called Moebius by Orbital and Sonic's lifestyle were begging to be written.**

**The structure of this piece corresponds with the structure of the song, which if you're interested, then you can find on Youtube. It's mostly instrumental (and it's pretty old & weird), but I included the statements.**

**Moebius**

Whoever was disturbing my sleep is going to meet a very ticked off Ultimate Lifeform, I had decided. Picking up my gun off my dresser and putting on a very cold scowl, I walked calmly to my front door and opened it.

"Shadow?"

Oh, it's him.

I shut the door again and began to walk back to my bed, not even bothering to lock it or give the hero a more appropriate response for his rudeness. I didn't even wonder what he was doing on my front steps; unless some crazed-up, actually competent villain was attacking and trying to take over and/or take over the current world we were residing on, I was disinclined to have anything to do with him.

"Shadow, this is important," the Faker insisted.

I stopped at his serious tone (serious!) and sighed. Raising my voice, I told him, "Come in." But if he was expecting hospitality, then he would be very disappointed. Speaking of which, why wasn't he at his own house or accepting the hospitality his overly-generous friends always gave him?

The door opened and Sonic walked in, but not with his usual cocky, carefree stride. No, he had foregone any flair, simply walking into my house and shutting the door behind him.

"We need to talk," he sighed as he looked at the blank wall above my head.

I didn't move. "About what?"

"Can we sit down?" he requested, his emerald gaze finally focusing on me.

After a moment, I nodded and led the way to the table in the kitchen, taking a chair and waiting for him to speak after he had gotten settled.

"Did Rouge ever tell you about Mobius?"

'Moebius?' That was an interesting context for the theory. "No."

Sonic nodded. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"Yes. It was the subject of a small pet project Gerald would mutter about and work on when he found the time," I said tonelessly. If this conversation was going to continue prying into my long-gone background, then the Blue Blur was going to find himself kicked out of my house faster than he could blink.

Sonic raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

I kept silent, and he seemed to get the message that I was really not appreciating the upcoming topic.

"Nevermind. What do you know about it?"

"The Moebius is a vaguely supported theory that-what?"

"That wasn't what I was talking about," Sonic said, waving his hands. "But now that I think about it, did _Robotnik_ ever tell you anything about Mobius?"

I frowned at him. "If you do not mean the theory, then no."

"Didn't you notice that you weren't human?"

That question took a moment to register. Of course I knew I wasn't human! I had been constantly reminded of it every day, but now I pushed back the memories, trying to let the conversation continue on its current course.

Sonic was pushing it, though. "Of course I did," I gritted out, before adding, "What, are you implying that I'm as dumb as you?"

I immediately realized that that was uncalled for, and _almost_ regretted saying it, but he did wake me up in the middle of the night for some obscure conversation that I didn't get the point of. And to top that off, he's my archrival. My very annoying archrival. Just his presence is enough to set off my nasty side.

Apparently, Sonic seemed to have expected an ill-tempered answer as well, because he only sighed slightly in resignation.

"Then didn't you ever wonder what you were?"

I gave him a look. "Do you think I would have told you my name was 'Shadow the Hedgehog' if I didn't know what I was?"

Sonic sighed again, but this time in frustration. "That's not what I meant either! You're a hedgehog, I'm a hedgehog, Amy's a hedgehog, Tails is a fox, Knuckles is an echidna, Rouge is a bat-"

"Yes, yes, I know," I interrupted impatiently, biting back another scathing comment. "Get to the point."

"But," Sonic continued as though he hadn't heard me, "despite our different species, we're all Mobians."

I'm pretty sure I stared at him for a good two minutes before asking for clarification. "How are you a scientific theory?" At least, I assumed that was the definition of Mobian because I had nothing else to go on. And I supposed I followed that definition; I was created by science, after all. And Faker had just called me a 'Mobian.' But at the same time, they were 'Mobians,' too, and they weren't artificially born like me.

"Not a scientific theory. We're actually not from around here. When we were fighting Eggman one day, we got transported to Earth via Chaos Control.

"Mobius is our home planet, and we want to go back. But to do that we need all-"

"-you need all the Chaos Emeralds," I finished, reaching into my quills to grasp the blue one I was carrying, but refusing to pull it out.

Sonic nodded again before taking a deep breath and meeting my eyes. "And we also need you."

Need me? I wasn't anyone's puppet. Sonic recognized my narrowing eyes as a danger sign and took off babbling.

"Well, don't _need_ you, per say, but_ want_ you. To come, with us. Back home to Mobi-"

I cut him off right then and there. "You want me to give you my Chaos Emerald so you can Chaos Control us all back to your home planet called Mobius," I stated.

"Yeees." Sonic drew the word out, sucking in another giant breath. "But Shadow, it's your planet, t-"

"No." My answer was succinct, final and closed for discussion.

"Shadow," my doppelganger said, and did I imagine that pleading note? I turned back to him.

"What part of 'no' do you not understand, hedgehog?"

Sonic drew in a pained breath. "Look, Shadow, what would it cost you to come back with us to _our_ homeplanet?"

I glared at him. "I am keeping my Chaos Emerald."

Sonic was quiet for a moment. "Alright, I did not run this conversation very well."

"Really?" I said acerbically. "Waking me up in the _middle of the night_ to try to convince me to give up _my Chaos Emerald_ so that _you all_ can go _home_ was a very poor choice indeed," I agreed. "Good night, Sonic." I got up and turned away, starting to walk back to my bed.

"_**Shadow!"**_

I froze. A blink later, Sonic was standing in front of me and pointing towards my former chair. **"Sit."**

I sat, all conscious thoughts frozen by the demanding, powerful tone I was being addressed with.

Sonic joined me again in another instant. "I'm listening. What is your problem with my…"

"Wish?" I nearly spat, shaken by the control Sonic had just demonstrated – over me, of all people! "Weren't you listening to anything I just said?" I was really taking on an insulting tone, but now I no longer cared. "It's the middle of the night-"

"I can explain that."

"I thought you said you were listening!" I accused. Oh, wait, Sonic? Actually listening? That would be a nice turn of events! IF it ever HAPPENED!

"And I thought you were going to talk about what you didn't like about my proposal!" Sonic protested, apparently getting fairly riled up as well. "Not my timing!"

I crossed my arms in the pose I was famous for (albeit, sitting down) and glared at him. "Then please, explain why you had to come at" – I glanced at the clock – "one o'clock in the morning when it is pitch-black outside."

Sonic grumbled. "We were having a sleep-over party – Rouge invited you, remember? – when we started talking about it, and I volunteered to come here and talk to you."

I stared at him in disbelief. "And you couldn't wait until a reasonable time because…?"

Sonic shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Shads, but you're wrath has nothing on Amy's…eh…behavior with me at a sleepover."

I felt slightly insulted at that, but ignored it. "Fine. Now, you also said you needed all the Chaos Emeralds."

"Yeah."

"One should suffice to get you to another dimension, planet, or wherever it is you are going," I informed him. "You don't need mine."

"Can I…see yours?"

A little surprised at the topic change, I cautiously pulled out the blue gem and held it up a little, although not out towards him at all.

Sonic looked at it and then me in an instant. "I thought you had gotten over your past, Shads."

"_What?"_ I sputtered. "Of course I did! Why…" The words died in my throat.

Sonic shook his head. "It's the same color as her eyes. I'm sorry, Shadow. I see it now. I should have seen it earlier, how you always kept the blue one close by and…it hurts, doesn't it?"

I didn't answer.

"Shadow, before you make a final decision-"

"I already made one, Faker," I brushed him off, trying to leave again.

"_Shadow,"_ Sonic warned.

I sat, hating his newfound power all the while.

"Shadow, you only know part of the story. Did you know that the Theory of Moebius was named after our planet?"

My ears pricked a little at that. It was science, not salesman gibberish trying to get me to do something.

Actually, it was a twisted combination made up on the spot specially for me, but I didn't know that.

Sonic smiled bitterly. _"There is the theory of the Moebius, a twist in the fabric of space where time becomes a loop. When we reach that point, whatever happens will happen again._ Yeah, they call it a theory, but it's really a reality for every single Mobian."

I realized he had left off 'including you.'

"For me," Sonic began, "it started with the usual, normal, daily, boring routine. You know, the one little kids follow, school, homework, play and bed. Just the same thing over and over again, like a cycle."

"So you ran off to find some excitement," I scoffed at him.

The pained look was back. "Actually, the excitement found me. Robuttnik-"

"_Excuse me?"_ The polar icecaps were warmer than my tone, but Sonic simply brushed me off.

"Eggman. You know he was Robotnik's grandson, right? He used to go by his family name, Ivo Robotnik, but we always called him 'Buttnik."

"You do realize," I snarled, "that you are also insulting my creator when you say that." True, Gerald had gone fairly crazy in the end with the turn of events at the ARK, but he had a good heart under it all. And here the Blue Pest was insulting him, after he was long-dead, too!

"No, I call Gerald Robotnik and Ivo Robuttnik. Two different people," Sonic explained, leaning my chair on its back legs.

Well…Eggman really did deserve that type of name…and since there was a distinction…"I guess I can let it slide," I acknowledged, consciously regaining my calm.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Robuttnik came and started roboticizing people left and right, until all of Mobotropolis fell under his rule."

"Roboticizing?" I questioned, never having heard that term either. My irritation with the Faker grew as my less-than-Ultimate knowledge presented itself.

Sonic, however, didn't even seem to notice my lack of knowledge and shivered a little. "The roboticizer turned many free-willed Mobians into robotic slaves for Robuttnik." He took on a solemn tone. "We never found the key to the de-roboticization process."

"So then," Sonic continued, "my days went more like the ones you see now: fight Robuttnik. That took up just about all the time I had, becoming another cycle I couldn't pull out of."

"Didn't your last cycle end when Rob…when Eggman came?" I asked.

Sonic nodded. "Somewhat. But I still had the whole work-and-play cycle going on. Taunting Robuttnik was the play; cleaning up was the work.

"And then I met Tails."

"Wouldn't that disprove your theory on the Moebius?" Tails was something, or rather, someone new. You would think that would be enough excitement for the hero.

"Nope. Because after Tails, I met Knuckles. And then I met Amy. And then I met Cream and Vanilla-"

"Meeting new people was your new cycle," I concluded.

But Sonic shook his head. "That's only half of it. I met new people who were joining me. Actively helping me fight Robuttnik, until he changed his name to Eggman. Then they helped me fight Eggman, too."

"Any other cycles?" I inquired.

"Then, not only did I have the whole work-and-play, fight Robuttnik, and meet-new-people cycles, I also got to travel to new places."

"I fail how to see that as a cycle."

"You're the perfect example. You know, Earth was the first new place we went to. Then we had to travel through the Metarex dimension, remember?" He ignored my glare at those memories. "And then we went to Planet S, and then the Wisp planet, and after that-"

"_I get the point,"_ I interrupted. "And your group was still growing."

"Yep. You joined us from Earth, Cosmo joined us from the Metarex dimension, Silver joined us from Planet S, Yacker – and you get the point," he said, seeing my expression before his turned aggravated. "It just keeps escalating, adding cycle upon cycle. In fact," an appalled expression made its way onto his face, "that's another cycle!"

"But hasn't it stopped? Eggman is dead now," I pointed out, before noticing Sonic's darkened countenance.

"Hah! Stopped, that's a good one, Shads." Sonic sat back, rubbing his temples. "For me, at least, my escalation cycle has stopped. That's why we need to go back to Mobius."

"You aren't making any sense," I informed him coolly.

"Shadow, neither me nor Knuckles has told anyone else this. But you're immortal, right?"

I nodded. Sad as it was, it was true. I would outlive everyone I knew.

"That's why you distance yourself from others, isn't it?"

I refused to answer that one.

"Well," Sonic said, taking my silence as a 'yes,' and I was definitely starting to see a smirk come back. "Don't worry about missing me and Knuckles."

"What are you talking about?"

"My Moebius is smart enough to know when the escalation has reached its peak and it's time to start all the cycles over again. My villain's dead and gone. Good riddance, by the way. Now it's my turn."

I stared at him in horror. His cycle was complete…so the Moebius would just throw him away?

"Did you know there was a Sir Sonic back in Mobius' Middle Ages?" Sonic continued conversationally. "And there was another one back when technology was just starting to bloom, who defended the planet from that time's technological mastermind, a distant ancestor of your creator whose family name was actually Kintobor. And there was another one who totally rocked the electric guitar, I'm a big fan-"

"What does this mean?" I asked, a little hoarsely.

"It's simple, Shads," Sonic said, looking a little surprised. "We take everything back to where it was at the start, me, Knuckles and the Chaos Emeralds, and it all starts all over again."

"But my point is this, Shads. We want you to come with us.

"But we also want you to have a good life. If you decide to come and make Mobius your home, then you're going to fall into a trap of cycles. I don't know what your cycles would be; Tails' seem to be losing people he cares about and building aircraft, which are very different from my cycles or Knuckles' cycles. But I do know that you'll get your own Moebius. I think you already have one because of your heritage, but if you come, then it will grow and become more complex. Personally, I would rather not have a Moebius because I can almost always predict what's going on in the future. There's lots of excitement in between, but I dunno, it just seems like such…scripted excitement. Boring excitement."

"I…need to think about this," I said.

"Fair enough," Sonic agreed. Suddenly, his whole outlook just…shifted. The other Sonic, the cocky one who was never serious and always cracking jokes, the annoying one, was back, and making his way out my front door with a, "See ya, Shads!"

I didn't get any sleep for the rest of the night.

That afternoon, I approached a small cottage with a giant island floating above its front yard and knocked on Sonic the Hedgehog's door.

"Heya, Shads!" he greeted me, as though none of our earlier conversation had happened.

I thrust the blue Chaos Emerald in his face, growling, "I want it back."

Once again, Sonic seemed to shift, even if just for a moment, into a person who had problems just like everyone else. He took the Chaos Emerald from me.

"Thanks."

And then the sensitive Sonic was gone, replaced by my fully-fledged rival. "When do you want to leave, Shads?"

"Now."

Sonic raised his eyebrows. "Now?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Faker."

Completely unruffled, Sonic stuck his head back inside and called, "Yo, Tails! Knuckles! Amy! Cream! Mrs. Rabbit! Rouge! Chaotix! Guys, it's time to go!"

The whole group came out, each person carrying a suitcase. "Mr. Shadow!" Cream squealed when she saw me, nearly dropping hers. I felt a little naked at my lack of possessions, but easily brushed it off. I also noticed that Sonic had apparently not packed anything either.

"Is everyone ready?"

I nodded with everyone else, watching as the seven Chaos Emeralds swirled around our group, growing faster and brighter until it was too white to see anything, even the Mobians beside me.

"_Chaos…Control!"_

A landscape came rushing back in, leaving everyone blinking in confusion, me most of all.

The Chaotix started cheering.

"We're home!" Cream cried, hugging her mother.

Amy beamed at the sight of her homeland and grabbed a smirking Rouge in another celebratory hug.

Knuckles hmphed, watching the others celebrate with a smirk similar to Rouges'.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed. "Remember this place?"

"You bet, bro!" Sonic chuckled, ruffling his little brother's hair, but I noticed that he was sagging.

"Hey, Shads!" I averted my gaze from the orange sky that was colored like the sunsets I used to be able to see on Earth and the blue grass to see Sonic holding up the blue Chaos Emerald. "_Welcome to Mobius."_

As I walked away, Sonic turned his attention to Knuckles and his flying island. "Sheesh, Knuckles, can't you ever travel light?"

**Thisisalinebreak**

"Hey, Shads! Catch!"

I plucked my blue Chaos Emerald out of the sky, settling a glare on Sonic. Unfortunately, as usual, it had absolutely no effect. "You idiot!" I screamed. "Don't you have any idea of what you're tossing around like a ragdoll?"

"Sorry, Shads, can't talk right now, I gotta go find Knuckles!" Sonic shouted. "See ya, Shads!"

My arch-rival raced off, kicking up a long trail of dust.

'See ya, Shads!' That was the good-bye every Sonic gave me. I heard it at least twice a day, but I didn't mind too much, because there were always at least three 'Heya, Shads!' in that same day. It was just a never-ending cycle that happened time and again.

Of course, there were breaks. I remember the time when the first Sonic died, due to an uncontrolled fire. He had faced armies of robots, robot copies, gods, and yet, died from a simple fire.

Knuckles died about the same time.

But the reincarnated Knuckles was very easy to find. He's become one of the cycles in my life that I owe 'my Moebius' as Sonic calls it. Whenever I don't see Knuckles around for a while, I check up on his island (with a good excuse just in case, of course), and if his cycle has started all over again, then I find a fairly large white egg in front of the Master Emerald's shrine, right where Knuckles always sits to guard it. Thankfully, though, I am never there to watch Knuckles hatch.

What came first, the echidna or the egg?

Darn it! Sonic is rubbing off on me, if I couldn't resist that.

Speaking of which, that little blue twerp even manages to annoy me as a six-month baby, because I searched and searched for about fifty years before I found him the first time I experienced Sonic's main cycle. He was a six-month old, adorable little baby blue hedgehog with emerald eyes sucking his gloveless thumb in an orphanage.

Ugh. Now I have this other cycle. Well, what was I supposed to do? Leave him there to get laughed at by the other whelps? Now, whenever I find him, if he has a family or not, I somehow get adopted and become something similar to his big brother.

I've lived on Mobius for a little over 1200 years now, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I finally have friends that I will never lose, no matter how many times they leave because they always come back with the exact same personalities and love-hate relationship with me. Sonic and Knuckles are the two people I can really depend on.

And those people also depend on me. I can hear Sonic screaming my name and something about chili dogs, fires, cliffs and slippers.

I can't begin to tell you the adventures my Moebius has thrown at me.

And I thought the first Sonic's adventures were nuts.

**And that's it! Hope you enjoyed it.**


End file.
